Brand marketers from across the country are heading down to Austin to attend SXSW. Expect to see a lot of thought provoking content on sustainability, human rights and social justice, as well as conversations around storytelling, AI and the metaverse.
On the main stage, actor, producer, and New York Times best-selling author Priyanka Chopra Jonas will be speaking with Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios. Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Margo Price will chat with Rolling Stone’s Angie Martoccio, Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton will chat with Eugene Hernandez, Director of Sundance Film Festival and Chef and Humanitarian José Andrés will share how he is working to feed those in crisis.
Ernst & Young LLP will be highlighting “Ancestral Archives,” an interactive multimedia installation by EY Metaverse Lab artist-in-residence Josie Williams that explores infusing Black thought into virtual worlds and metaverse experiences using generative artificial intelligence (AI). Williams’ project will bring iconic Black leaders such as James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde and Octavia Butler to modern day communities. The idea is to illustrate how AI and the metaverse can be built on positive human experiences in the past and build a better working world.
HBO Max is hosting an in-person activation called the Coffeehouse, where guests can access exclusive content from across the HBO and HBO Max portfolio. The company aims to create a place for multicultural storytelling. The two-day activation is powered by HBO Max’s Human By Orientation and Pa’lante! multicultural marketing initiatives designed to elevate and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ and Latinx communities. The space will host content and exclusive screenings of original shows.
Reproductive health-focused telemedicine company Wisp is using the SXSW to tell its story in a state where abortion is legal. The brand, which sells abortion pills online in states where it is legal, will be doing an out-of-home campaign at the event to advocate for autonomy over healthcare.
Warner Music Group. is hosting the So Satisfying House, a three-day music and sensory experience popup. Daytime at So Satisfying House will provide fans with an in-person audio, visual, and tactile adventure inspired by IMGN’s So Satisfying social account. Other activations include: The Sensory Room, an audiovisual space designed as a kind of oasis from the crowds of SXSW with custom interactive wall installations and audiovisual tools. The ASMR Spa will let guests experience ASMR inspired to relax. The Smell-O-Vision Smell bar will pair viral videos with perfumes designed to capture the essence of the video. Each night, the house will focus on a different type of music – country, alternative, and global.
Verizon will host the Recharge on Verizon at the Hilton Austin Downtown from 10-5, March 12-14, as a space to relax and recharge devices while checking out some of Verizon’s latest tech.
Nutrabolt’s C4 Energy drink is the Official Energy Drink of SXSW. The brand will use the tentpole event to reintroduce C4 Smart Energy, a line of energy drinks created to sharpen mental focus. The brand will host the C4 Smart House, inviting festival attendees to gain a “renewed sense of focus on the moments that matter to them.” The brand will also use the event to kick off the new “4 Moments Of” campaign, an effort aimed at inspiring consumers to “unlock individual greatness” in everyday moments.
Solar technology company SunPower Corp. is presenting the panel “Reaching Critical Climate Goals Requires Everyone,” exploring the urgent issue of expanding access to renewable energy in the U.S.
Brand Innovators will be hosting a hospitality suite at Lambert’s with content focused on Marketing Leadership. Drop in to hear from leaders at a range of different brands including: Inspire Brands, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Danone, Coty, Pandora, Visa, Hyatt, OkCupid, KFC, L’Oreal, Paramount Pictures and more. Drop by and say hello!
